DX LISTENING DIGEST 4-137, September 9, 2004 Incorporating REVIEW OF INTERNATIONAL BROADCASTING edited by Glenn Hauser, http://www.worldofradio.com Items from DXLD may be reproduced and re-reproduced only if full credit be maintained at all stages and we be provided exchange copies. DXLD may not be reposted in its entirety without permission. Materials taken from Arctic or originating from Olle Alm and not having a commercial copyright are exempt from all restrictions of noncommercial, noncopyrighted reusage except for full credits For restrixions and searchable 2004 contents archive see http://www.worldofradio.com/dxldmid.html NOTE: If you are a regular reader of DXLD, and a source of DX news but have not been sending it directly to us, please consider yourself obligated to do so. Thanks, Glenn NEXT AIRINGS OF WORLD OF RADIO 1245: Thu 2000 on RFPI http://www.rfpi.org repeated 4-hourly [maybe] Thu 2030 on WWCR 15825 Thu 2100 on WBCQ 9330-CLSB [maybe] Fri 0200 on ACBRadio Mainstream repeated 2-hourly http://www.acbradio.org/mainstream.html Fri 1600 on WBCQ after-hours http://wbcq.com repeated weekdaily Fri 2300 on Studio X, Momigno, Italy 1584 Sat 0000 on SIUE Web Radio http://webradio.siue.edu Sat 0800 on WRN1 to Europe, Africa, Asia, Pacific Sat 0855 on WNQM Nashville 1300 Sat 1030 on WWCR 5070 Sat 1830 on WPKN Bridgeport, 89.5, http://www.wpkn.org Sat 2000 on RFPI http://www.rfpi.org repeated 8-hourly [maybe] Sat 2030 on WBCQ 17495-CUSB Sat 2030 on R. Lavalamp http://www.radiolavalamp.org Sat 2300 on RFPI http://www.rfpi.org repeated 8-hourly [maybe] Sun 0230 on WWCR 5070 Sun 0300 on WBCQ 9330-CLSB Sun 0630 on WWCR 3210 Sun 1000 on WRN1 to North America, webcast; also KSFC 91.9 Spokane WA, and WDWN 89.1 Auburn NY; maybe KTRU 91.7 Houston TX, each with webcasts Sun 1100 on R. Lavalamp http://www.radiolavalamp.org Sun 1500 on R. Lavalamp http://www.radiolavalamp.org Sun 1900 on Studio X, Momigno, Italy 1584 Sun 1930 on WWCR 12160 Sun 2000 on RNI webcast, http://www.11L-rni.com Sun 2000 on RFPI http://www.rfpi.org repeated 8-hourly [maybe] Mon 0100 on WBCQ 9330-CLSB Mon 0230 on WRMI 6870 Mon 0330 on WSUI 910, webcast http://wsui.uiowa.edu [previous 1244] Mon 0430 on WBCQ 7415, webcast http://wbcq.us Mon 0900 on R. Lavalamp http://www.radiolavalamp.org Mon 1600 on WBCQ after-hours http://wbcq.com repeated weekdaily Mon 2100 on WBCQ 9330-CLSB [maybe, repeated Tue, Wed] Wed 0930 on WWCR 9475 WRN ONDEMAND [from Fri]: http://new.wrn.org/listeners/stations/station.php?StationID=24 OUR ONDEMAND AUDIO [also for CONTINENT OF MEDIA, MUNDO RADIAL]: WORLD OF RADIO 1245 (high version): (stream) http://www.w4uvh.net/wor1245h.ram (download) http://www.w4uvh.net/wor1245h.rm (summary) http://www.worldofradio.com/wor1245.html [from Thu] WORLD OF RADIO 1245 (low version): (stream) http://www.w4uvh.net/wor1245.ram (download) http://www.w4uvh.net/wor1245.rm WORLD OF RADIO 1245 in the true SW sound of 7415: (stream) http://www.piratearchive.com/media/worldofradio_09-08-04.m3u (d`load) http://www.piratearchive.com/media/worldofradio_09-08-04.mp3 [this week WBCQ got a download instead of phone feed, better quality] DXLD YAHOOGROUP: Why wait for DXLD? A lot more info, not all of it appearing in DXLD later, is posted in our yg. Here`s where to sign up. http://groups.yahoo.com/group/dxld/ (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** AFGHANISTAN [non]. UNITED KINGDOM, 15195, Internews Radio, Sep 5 *1330-1350 33433-35433, 1330 sign on with IS. ID as "Salaam Watandar". Talk. Frequency change information from Kenji Hashimoto (Kouji Hashimoto, Japan Premium via DXLD) SITE? Apparently ex 17700. Thanks to the tip, tried for them at 1448 Sept 9 (Presumed) and heard instrumental music, Summer of 42, I believe, and then talk by man and woman in presumed Pasto/Dari. Instrumental version of Simon and Garfunkel tune at 1452 then more talk. Local music at 1456, dead air at 1500 and off. (via DXTuner OZ) (Hans Johnson, WY, Cumbre DX via DXLD) ** AFGHANISTAN. AFGHAN PUBLIC ENJOYS AN INCREASING NUMBER OF RADIO STATIONS | Text of editorial headlined "Eight FM radios in Kabul" published in English by the Afghan newspaper The Kabul Times on 5 September Once Kabul had a small radio station, broadcasting on medium wave only. There was no frequency modulation (FM) anywhere in the world then. Located on the other side of the central bridge, Radio Kabul operated from 0600 to 1200 and from 1800 to 2200 [local time]. In addition to news bulletins and some informative and educational material, most of the time was taken up by live music. A tape recorder at the station was preceded by a wire-recorder, and neither was efficient as far as high fidelity was concerned. The professional staff on the broadcasting side numbered 16, outnumbered by engineers and technicians because it was they who raised the voice of Afghanistan and maintained the station as a running concern. Since Kabul was so small with plenty of electricity, the station did not possess a standby generator. One day, the power cable connecting the studio with the broadcasting tower outside the town was cut off somehow, and people complained next day in the papers because radio was the only means of entertainment for the citizens. During the Second World War, the public address system installed in strategic points of the town were crowded by inquisitive citizens who listened to the news so intently to find out how much the German troops had advanced. Most of the Afghans were Germanophiles for two reasons: Afghans and Germans shared a common ancestry [as published]. This was the result of German propaganda. [just us Aryans ---- gh] Secondly, Afghans did not like the British owing to two British invasions, and they detested the Russians due to their advance in Central Asia, particularly the occupation of Bukhara, believed to be a holy city. So, radio held a tremendously important place in each Afghan family, some of them listening in to the sets belonging to their rich neighbours. A radio set in the early days of its emergence in Afghanistan was a status symbol, like the automobile after the war and even to date. Afghan youth are now blessed with the fruits of the communications revolution, one of them the FM broadcasting as it is clear and without any interference. The eight FM stations operating in or for Kabul are the Voice of America, the BBC, Radio France, Radio Liberty, Deutsche Welle, Arman, Kelid, and a new one just joining the foray. The private stations owned by Afghans are evidently funded, at least to a large extent, by advertising, which in turn boosts industry and commerce. The songs broadcast by these stations are the best available and therefore the most appealing to the public at large. By keeping people abreast of the news and entertaining music lovers with their favourite songs, these stations are already highly popular. Source: The Kabul Times, Kabul, in English 5 Sep 04 (via BBCM via DXLD) ** ARGENTINA. RAE on 11711 kHz at 0145 UT --- Listening to a station that I like a lot, but don't get to hear too often because conditions too rarely permit it. That's RAE, Buenos Aires, broadcasting tonight on 11711 with an unusually strong signal. There is some adjacent QRM, so one must tune carefully and perhaps utilize any special features one's receiver may have to best effect. But those tangos, oh those tangos (John Figliozzi, Halfmoon, NY, Lowe HF-150, A/D DX Sloper, UT Sept 9, Swprograms mailing list via DXLD) Thanks; I'll have to go look for this. I remember there was a stretch in the late '80s when I would listen often. I really wish these folks would improve their accessibility via relays, better frequency selection, or webcasting -- because South America is woefully underrepresented on shortwave nowadays, given the loss of RadioBras in English (Richard Cuff / Allentown, PA USA, ibid.) ** AUSTRALIA. RADIO AUSTRALIA UNDER THE RADAR Unless you follow John Figliozzi`s biweekly Radio Australia highlights closely, you might miss out on some interesting programs at Radio Australia. While many of Radio Australia`s programs have consistent schedule slots, many months feature substitutions and new program launches. One such new program is The Chat Room with Radio Australia`s Heather Jarvis; this is a Radio Australia-produced program with human interest stories; people from the region living lives a little out of the ordinary -- from business, to sport, science and the arts--drop in, share their stories and play a bit of music. The Chat Room airs Fridays 1130 (perhaps the best time here in the Northeast USA), and 0130 and 0430 Sundays. Another is the short program Heywire, which features the views of young rural Australians. Heywire airs 0354 Sundays and 0356 Mondays through Fridays. Yet another is Hit Mix, hosted by Brendon Telfer, is a brand new program looking at the Aussie music scene. Hit Mix airs 2340 Fridays and 0630 Saturdays and Mondays. This program replaces Oz Sounds as Radio Australia`s self-produced popular music program. You can also count on a new program from Radio Australia roughly four times a year as part of its education series. These informative documentaries are very well produced with the latest, Smart Societies, airing Thursdays 1130, Saturdays 1505 and Sundays 0830. This is a new eleven-part education series that seeks to explore some of the challenges facing the region. Young professionals share their ideas about what is required to build truly smart and cohesive societies while regional experts discuss a range of issues from international education to creating livable cities to being good corporate citizens. A program website, including on-demand audio archives, will be created once the series concludes its on-air run. Another program that will be reappearing on the schedule in September is Sunday Profile, hosted by Geraldine Doogue. It`s a weekly in-depth analysis of major Australian and world news. Ms. Doogue talks to the people in the news about the news --- the decision makers and agenda setters, politicians and business leaders --- about the issues driving the news agenda. Sunday Profile originates on ABC Local Radio and will air on Radio Australia Sundays 1130 UT as of September 5th. Oh --- if you think you`ve seen that name before, you`re right --- Ms. Doogue was the long time host of Life Matters, the daily interview program about social change that airs for 40 minutes weekdays on Radio Australia at 0320 UT. Life Matters originates on Radio National Sundays-Thursdays for two hours at 2300, streamed live. Well worth a listen; on-demand archives are also available at the program`s website, http://www.abc.net.au/rn/talks/lm/ One last suggestion: Australia Wide, a weekday domestic news roundup that originates on yet another ABC service, ABC NewsRadio. Australia Wide airs on Radio Australia Sundays-Thursdays at 2240. Radio Australia probably won`t propagate well via shortwave at that time to eastern North America, but you might want to check out Radio Australia`s live web stream. Minor editorial comment: My heart stopped earlier this year when there was some talk of Australia`s ABC stopping the funding of Radio National. Thankfully there was a large domestic outcry at the time, but it would be a travesty to lose such a high quality English language spoken-word radio service. Thanks to John Figliozzi for his continuing efforts to publicize Radio Australia programming in an easy-to-follow way (Richard Cuff, Easy Listening, Sept NASWA Journal via DXLD) ** AUSTRALIA. Radio Australia --- The Media Report: This fine program from Radio Australia takes a critical look at media around the world. On September 9th, it took a look at media and elections, particularly focusing on Australia's current campaign. The guest was Graham Young, Executive Director of the not-for-profit enterprise National Forum, Editor of the National Forum's Online Opinion. Mr. Young made some insightful comments, summarized briefly here. People already interested in political life have already searched out the information, and in much of the world, with nearly unlimited choices, most tend to gravitate to sources representing their world view. So, the media expends enormously on those few that are hardest to reach. Political campaigns have evolved more and more into simple slogans, put into emotional terms. This is because "the majority of people are more emotionally driven than factually driven." Another feature was on the coverage of the school siege and massacre in Beslan by the Russian media. Monica Attard, a former ABC correspondent, was interviewed by phone from Moscow found the often highly critical questioning of President Putin's policies on Chechyna "refreshing." "The entire country has been traumatized" and the media is refusing to countenance Putin's hard line. This is fine analysis of print and broadcast media covering issues of importance in our news driven age, focusing on Australian issues, but also world affairs. The Media Report, with host Mick O'Regan is highly recommended by this listener to anyone interested in how the media affects our lives. Thursdays at 1030 UT [i.a.]. For a full transcript of this particular show, on the web: http://www.abc.net.au/rn/talks/8.30/mediarpt/stories/s1194072.htm (Roger Chambers, Utica, New York, Sept 9, ODXA via DXLD) ** AUSTRALIA. Broadcast Austria does not produce radio programs and is not affiliated with Radio Australia: it is the national transmitter network owner in Australia, like e.g. Sentech in South Africa or DTK (Deutsche Telekom) in Germany. Broadcast Australia owns and operates the SW transmitters in Shepparton and Brandon which are leased by Radio Australia. The website of Broadcast Australia is http://www.broadcastaustralia.com.au (it is working normally this morning); it does not contain schedules. 73s, (Bernd Trutenau, Lithuania, Cumbre DX via DXLD) Hello Glenn, I have had no problem opening the Broadcast Australia site at http://www.broadcastaustralia.com.au --- maybe Lim Kwet Hian needs to attack local name servers a couple more times. I think some will be surprised at RA's association with its "own" transmitters. Up-to-date (at least, the same ones RA gives me to send out) English program (19 July) and frequency (April 2004) guides can be downloaded after following the "Program Guide" and "Tuning In" links respectively from RA's home page at http://www.abc.net.au/ra/ Best regards (Ian Johnson, Australian Radio DX Club, ARDXC.FL.NET.AU, Sept 8, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BAHRAIN. Glenn, Seems unlikely to find anything in Bahrain on 954 when that is the frequency of 2 megawatt (usually operated at 1) Al Arish, Qatar, with DA maximum directly toward Bahrain, about 50 km distant (Ben Dawson, WA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BOLIVIA. Amigos DXistas! I have not been updating my ID-Homepage the last week due to illness. But I listened to the unID LA station on 4845.04 kHz more than two hours this Wednesday evening. But I was lucky, once the nonstop cumbia music was interrupted by ID and some ads. The ID sounds like "Luceis tu radio" and the QTH perhaps is Caranavi - La Paz, Bolivia at least ads caMe from Caranavi. I will put ads and ID soon on my homepage! http://www.malm-ecuador.com/ 73s (Björn Malm, Quito, Ecuador, Sept 8, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 4845.04 Radio Municipal, La Paz area --- NEW STATION! This Thursday morning with regular transmissions for the first time, probably in Aymara. Name: Radio Municipal. What I heard yesterday "Luciseis(?) tu radio" perhaps jingle or name of their FM transmitter. QTH: La Paz area, perhaps Provincia de Caranavi-La Paz. Frequencies: 4845 kHz and FM. Later on I will listen to my recordings and put it on my ID-homepage. 73s (Björn Malm, Quito, Ecuador, Sept 9, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ?? Seems unlikely a new station with R. Fides already on the frequency; maybe Fides relaying something? See: ** BOLIVIA. 4845, Radio Fides, 0948-1020 Sept 9, Noted a man in Spanish comments until 0950 when a long instrumental selection is present which continuous until the hour. On the hour complete ID and TC. The 31 meter frequency of 9625 is also mentioned. Then back to music. At 1004 canned ads. This followed with music again. The signal was almost armchair on 4845 while a quick check of 9625 resulted in hearing only a threshold signal there (Chuck Bolland, FL, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CANADA. Nuevo esquema de Radio Canadá Internacional desde mediados de agosto, en español: de lunes a viernes 2330 en 11825 y 15425; todos los días media hora a las 00 en 11990, 13725; a las 02 en 9755, 11990 y 13710. De http://www.rcinet.ca/horaires/A04_SW_24h_16_ao%FBt.pdf (Guillermo Glenn Hauser, Oclajoma, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CANADA. Quirks & Quarks Sept 11 --- Hello, This week we kick off a new season of Quirks & Quarks with a provocative documentary on Language and Thought. Which came first - words or concepts? And does the language we speak influence the way we think? Some scientists believe that vocabulary actually shapes and limits our ability to understand or conceive certain concepts and ideas. But many researchers disagree. We'll look at both sides of this heated scientific debate. Plus - we'll get all the poop on how burrowing owls use decorative dung to decoy their dinner. All this and more on Quirks & Quarks, Saturday right after the noon news on Radio One. Bob McDonald, Host ____ QUIRKS & QUARKS, CBC RADIO ONE SATURDAYS AT 12:06 online at http://cbc.ca/quirks You are currently signed up for CBC.ca's Quirks newsletter. To unsubscribe, or to change your newsletter preferences, you will need to log in to your CBC online membership. If you are not already a registered member, please visit: http://www.cbc.ca/membership/ Once you are a CBC online member, simply go to the "E-mail Newsletters" section to make changes to your newsletter subscriptions. Copyright 2004 Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (via DXLD) A reminder that the rerun season is over; I won`t be publishing all these weekly notices, so if interested, please subscribe to them directly (gh, DXLD) ** CANADA. NUMBER OF CANADIAN HAM RADIO OPERATORS I'd like to comment on a specific sentence appearing in the report from Canadian Press, appearing in DXLD 4-136 under Canada, about the Radio Amateurs of Canada's request to do away with the Morse code requirement for ham radio licensing. The sentence is this: "The Radio Amateurs of Canada, representing about 9,000 of Canada's estimated 45,000 ham operators, want Ottawa to take advantage of the relaxed rules and drop the requirement in Canada." I take great exception to the reference to "Canada's estimated 45,000 ham operators". I challenge the fact that we have anywhere remotely close to 45,000 ham operators in Canada. What we may, in fact, have is an estimated 45,000 ham radio licenses; a very different animal. I have questioned the Radio Amateurs of Canada on this number as well and have received a variety of responses. In the last few years Industry Canada dropped annual renewals of amateur radio licenses in Canada, issuing only licenses for new amateur operators. At that point in time, it would have been safe to use a figure of approximately 45,000 ham radio licenses, not amateurs. It has always been next to impossible to determine the exact number of amateur radio operators in Canada. The reason for this is that several Canadian amateurs hold more than one ham radio license. For example, here in Quebec, when the "VA2" prefix was implemented, many amateurs already holding amateur radio licenses in Quebec with "VE2" callsigns applied to hold the same callsign but with the VA2 prefix, thus resulting in two ham licenses for one operator. Also, numerous licenses and callsigns across Canada were issued for amateur club stations, repeaters, packet stations, special events calls, etc. Each of these callsigns, at least in the Industry Canada, and now the Radio Amateurs of Canada database, was taken to represent one amateur operator when, in fact, that was and is far from the case. Because renewal of a ham license in Canada is no longer a necessity, should an amateur become inactive, or die, for example, it would be up to the individual, or someone in his/her family, to inform someone (either IC or RAC) that the callsign and license were no longer required, making it available to someone else. A problem has also been created in that an amateur operator who relocates from one province to another is not obliged to change their callsign, but most probably would anyway. This would result in an amateur possibly holding two or more licenses, different ones for each province. With Industry Canada only being concerned about the issuance of new callsigns to first time licensees, it has become, more or less, impossible to determine the exact number of amateur radio operators in Canada, let alone the exact number of active callsigns. As the article stated, RAC represents about 9,000 amateurs in Canada. That is the number of hams who have decided to pay the fee and become a member of the national organization. My question put to RAC, which I think now, given the changes of the last few years, becomes one that is impossible to answer accurately. How many hams are there in Canada? I personally feel that RAC is comfortable and content using the "45,000" figure, even though I strongly feel that the number could possibly be lower than that by at least 1/3 or maybe even 1/2, if the duplications, deaths, inactive operators, club/repeater calls, etc. were somehow to be weeded out. The "45,000" figure gives RAC a negociating tool with Industry Canada but, in my opinion, paints a totally distorted and exaggerated and misrepresented picture of the radio amateur community in Canada. Maintaining an accurate database of Canadian amateur operators at this point in time would need to become a function of Radio Amateurs of Canada, no longer Industry Canada. IC, by their actions as they relate to amateur radio administration in Canada, indicates to me that they have about as much interest in who and where the Canadian amateur are as they did back in the early 80s when they deregulated CB radio. I hope this helps to define the numbers problem that exists here in Canada with respect to "number of amateurs" vs. "number of licenses". Just one of those things that gets under my skin, and no one seems to willing to do anything about it (Sheldon Harvey, Greenfield Park, Quebec, Sept 8, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CANADA. It would be interesting to have a real-time test at the convention where people could tweak the knobs and compare signals. What would be interesting is getting an experimental license for say 1610 for CAM-D and then one on 1640 for IBOC and do a shoot-out. I doubt Ibiquity would want to participate (Paul Smith, W4KNX, NRC-AM via DXLD) There's probably good reason to assume this about iBiquity. I was poking around the Canadian Ass'n of Broadcasters web site and found an online copy of "Circuit" dated June 2003 http://www.cab-acr.ca/english/benefits/circ_1801.pdf which contained the story "IBiquity Vetoes IBOC Equipment Sale to Canada". Industry Canada had tried to buy a FM IBOC exciter for testing to "assess incremental impairment to analog FM services due to adjacent-channel IBOC transmissions". The FCC had then supported IC's testing proposals but iBiquity "refused to budge". They claimed "uncertainty about protection of its royalty rights under Canadian law". Aside from being a dig at Canadian government ethics, it probably hides the real reason, which is that "theoretical assessments ... have shown a higher potential for IBOC interference to analog stations than was identified by the NRSC" and the Canadian BTAC tests were intended to "assess real-world interference situations". While this article is about FM, the significance can be extrapolated to AM as well, IMO. But the solution is "don't let them have the equipment and they can't find out the problems". Security Through Obscurity. Since this, and nothing newer, turned up in my search query, I am assuming that this is still current info. Interesting, and I had not seen this mentioned before (Bob Foxworth, ibid.) ** CHINA [non]. Dear George J. Poppin: Thanks for your report again. We're sending QSL cards to you. Hope you get them soon. We broadcast one hour on 1280 AM on a medium station in Chicago from September 6. The content include: Five minutes of Chinese news, 50 minutes of Real Time Beijing, and 5 minutes of Learn Chinese Now. The local broadcast time is from 18 hour to 19 hours, Monday to Friday. If you have chance to that palace, your reception reports on this part are warmly welcomed. Any of your comment and suggestion is appreciated. Sincerely yours, YingLian [collective name], English Service, China Radio International http://en.chinabroadcast.cn/ (via George J. Poppin, CA, WORLD OF RADIO 1245, DX LISTENING DIGEST) I doubt George can hear that palace in San Francisco; that would be WBIG, 1280, Aurora IL, 1000 watts day, 500 night, in the 2004-2005 NRC AM Log as News/talk with shows from Mutual/Westwood One, Talk Radio Network. I wonder if they have any other foreign clients? Time would be M-F 2300-2400 UT (Glenn Hauser, WORLD OF RADIO 1245, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CONGO. Brazzaville has been audible the last three mornings on 9610 after BBC via ASC goes off c0629. It announces in French as Radio Congo, Chaîne Nationale. 5985 is supposed to be in use till 0700, but perhaps they have changed it? (Noel R. Green, UK, Aug 30, BC-DX Sept 9 via DXLD) ** CONGO DR. RTNC Goma shortwave transmitter -- Hmm, as I earlier predicted, RTNC Goma shortwave is not yet on the air. Quoting my source in Goma on 9 Sep 2004: "You are right, RTNC Goma got one shortwave transmitter from Kinshasa (gouverment) like RTNC Bukavu. On Monday I was with RTNC Goma director and he told me they will use their new transmitter when they will finish to build their radio studio. I think the problem is political one. Maybe after our election it will be possible RTNC stations which are at the East will begin to work properly with our capital city." 73 (Jari Savolainen, Kuusankoski, Finland, Sept 9, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CUBA. Radio Havana was heard on 6000 kHz just after 0400 UT on September 9th, with English news. Signal was clear, but very low audio, though readable. Not heard on 9820 kHz. This is the first I have heard them since the hurricane a month ago. I wonder if they will be back on just to go off the air again with Hurricane Ivan? (Roger Chambers, Utica, New York, ODXA via DXLD) I was listening to them last night (about 0130 9 Sept) as well. The audio fluctuated quite a bit from very listenable to barely audible while the signal level remained stable. I was using an SW 8 with about a 120' wire. I'm in north central Ohio (Mike Wolfson, ibid.) ** EQUATORIAL GUINEA. R. Nacional, Malabo, 6250.35, Sept 3 2230-2301* Spanish talk, ballads, sign-off with NA. Very weak; barely audible under ute blob. Must use ECSS-LSB to hear anything (Brian Alexander, Mechanicsburg PA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ERITREA. VOBME, 7100, Sept 3 *0325-0345+, Home Service #1, not \\ to 7180. Sign-on with IS and opening announcements, vernacular talk and local HOA music. Poor-fair. V. of the Broad Masses of Eritrea, new 7180 ex-7175, Sept 3 *0325- 0345+, Home Service #2, not \\ to 7100. Sign-on with IS and opening announcements, vernacular talk and Horn of Africa music. Fair-good (Brian Alexander, Mechanicsburg PA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ETHIOPIA. V. of Tigray Revolution, 6350, Sept 4 *0355-0410+ IS, 0400 vernacular talk and local Horn of Africa music, \\ 5500, both weak (Brian Alexander, Mechanicsburg PA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** FRANCE. Hello! This is a RR of your transmission (see below). Received with a selfbuild DRM-RX and a 10 m longwire-antenna. Please send me a QSL-card - thank you! Best regards, Horst Weise DL4SBK ...Germany DRMSoftwareRadio-MERLIN-00000xxx Software Version 2.0.34 Starttime (UTC) 2004-07-21 14:01:20 Frequency 15790 kHz Latitude 48 degr 54'N Longitude 9 degr 17'E Label TDF ISSOUDUN E Bitrate 20.88 kbps Mode B Bandwidth 10 kHz Comment MINUTE SNR SYNC AUDIO TYPE 0000 20 150 1500/10 0 0001 20 150 1500/10 0 0002 19 150 1500/10 0 0003 20 150 1500/10 0 0004 20 150 1500/10 0 0005 20 150 1500/10 0 0006 20 150 1500/10 0 0007 20 150 1500/10 0 0008 20 150 1500/10 0 0009 20 150 1500/10 0 0010 20 150 1500/10 0 0011 19 150 1430/10 0 0012 20 150 1500/10 0 0013 20 150 1500/10 0 0014 19 150 1500/10 0 0015 20 150 1460/10 0 0016 20 150 1500/10 0 0017 20 150 1480/10 0 0018 20 150 1500/10 0 0019 20 150 1390/10 0 0020 19 150 1430/10 0 0021 20 150 1480/10 0 0022 18 150 1370/10 0 0023 17 131 1230/10 0 SNR min: 0.0, max: 20.9 CRC: 0x1cdf (Horst Weise, Germany, Sept 1, BC-DX Sept 9 via DXLD) Dear Mr Weise, My name is Pierre Urcun. I`m an R&D engineer at TDF. I`m in charge of DRM (Digital Radio Mondiale) at TDF research. The broadcast station that you heard on 15790 kHz, 21.07.2004, was an experimental DRM broadcast as you had guessed. Please find the details of the station below: - Power tx: 30 kW - Antenna: Slotted antenna 2/2/0.5, 60 degr E - Location on earth: (Issoudun in France) Latitude 46 degr 57 N, longitude 1 degr 59 E I hope this information is useful to you, a QSL card is sending today. I thank you for your report and I wish you happy DXing. Sincerely, (Pierre Urcun, ibid.) ** GHANA. MEDIA WATCHDOG ORDERS NATIONAL BROADCASTER STAFF REINSTATED | Text of report by Ghanaian GBC radio on 8 September The National Media Commission [NMC] has directed the unconditional reinstatement of the five interdicted GBC [Ghana Broadcasting Corporation] staff while it takes appropriate steps to address what it called the underlying causes of the impasse at GBC. In a statement issued last night in Accra, the commission appealed to all GBC staff and management to exercise the greatest restraint. The interdicted staff are the director of TV Charles Kofi Bucknor, editor-in-chief Emmanuel Vorgbe, assistant chief editor Francis Sasu, assistant editor Nana Yao Duodo and contract journalist Solomon Eyiah. Meanwhile, the NMC reminds journalists of their responsibility to commit themselves to the practice of the highest standards of journalism. Source: Radio Ghana, Accra, in English 0600 gmt 8 Sep 04 (via BBCM via WORLD OF RADIO 1245, DXLD) ** GREECE [non]. OLYMPICS KILLS MUCH LIVE STREAMING Apparently the Olympics organizing committee once again placed a very high price tag on allowing incidental live Olympics commentary to be webcast, because the BBC World Service webcast was somewhat curtailed, as was the entire Australian ABC NewsRadio service. At least the BBC`s embargo wasn`t total, as it was four years ago. It is truly a shame that the Olympics has become such a bloated, greedy spectacle that it single-handedly killed so much live audio on the web, even during ``non-sports`` programming such as the BBC`s Newshour. One thing this means is that perhaps the online streaming audio audience isn`t all that important to the BBC World Service, despite their claims to the contrary since 2001. Thankfully this embargo didn`t reach shortwave (Richard Cuff, Easy Listening, Sept NASWA Journal via DXLD) ** GRENADA. Hurricane Ivan - Grenada radio off air "Details on the extent of the death and destruction in Grenada did not emerge until Wednesday because the storm cut all communications with the country of 100,000 people, and halted radio transmissions on the island." More at : http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/news/archive/2004/09/09/international1330EDT0607.DTL (via Mike Terry, Sept 9, dxldyg via DXLD) ** INDIA. PRASAR BHARATI EARNS AROUND RS 7 CRORE, HOPES TO GET MORE New Delhi, Sep 7 (UNI) Public sector broadcasters Doordarshan (DD) and The All India Radio (AIR) have earned revenues of Rs 6.1 crore and Rs 38 lakh respectively from the broadcast of the just concluded 28th Olympics. Prasar Bharati Chief Executive Officer K S Sarma said the figure is likely to go up once payments from other channels in the country, which used Olympic material with or without the permission of the national broadcaster, is received. Mr Sarma told UNI in an interview that there had been many cases of signal theft of the live telecast of the games, for which Doordarshan has acquired exclusive rights. Under the rules, other news or sports channels could use a maximum of two minutes of Olympic material per day without payment. Prasar Bharati had written to various channels in this connection, and had received replies from most of them agreeing to pay for the telecasts. (Aajtak Managing Director G Krishnan had told this agency separately that his channel would pay the money once Prasar Bharati submitted the requisite bills.) Mr Sarma said an agency had specially been asked to monitor all TV channels in view of previous experiences when DD signals for cricket and other sports were stolen and beamed on other private channels. He quoted from the Television News Access Rules framed by the International Olympics Committee to say that other TV channels can only show the Olympics as part of their general news bulletins for a maximum of three times per day, not exceeding more than two minutes each time. It was also clarified that there should be a gap of at least three hours between coverage of Olympics in the news bulletins by other channels. (From http://www.deepikaglobal.com via Mukesh Kumar, THE COSMOS CLUB MISCOT-3, R-8, RAMNA, MUZAFFARPUR – 842002, BIHAR, INDIA, DXLD) ** INTERNATIONAL WATERS [and non]. Hurricane Watch Net Facing Storms` Challenges NEWINGTON, CT, Sep 8, 2004 --- With hurricanes threatening almost at the rate of one per week since mid-August, the Hurricane Watch Net (HWN) has had a busy time of things. The net is taking a short breather before an anticipated reactivation for Hurricane Ivan (click link for latest forecast) --- now a dangerous Category 4 storm. ``Hurricanes Frances and Ivan have presented the HWN with a significant challenge, requiring wall-to-wall operations during 20- meter band openings over the past full week,`` Net Manager Mike Pilgrim, K5MP, said September 7. The net wrapped up seven straight days of operation this week just as Hurricane Ivan wreaked havoc in the Windward Islands --- Grenada, Trinidad and the northern coast of Venezuela. ``Reports from maritime mobiles, primarily in Grenada, indicate severe damage as the storm moves now into the central and western Caribbean,`` Pilgrim added. The National Hurricane Center`s 1800 UTC report indicated that Hurricane Ivan was expected to pass just north of Bonaire, Curaçao and Aruba later today. A hurricane warning remains in effect for all three islands. As of 1800 UTC, Hurricane Ivan was some 105 miles northeast of Bonaire and some 740 miles east-southeast of Kingston, Jamaica. The storm, with sustained winds near 140 MPH with higher gusts, is moving west-northwesterly near 16 MPH. That motion was expected to continue over the next 24 hours, the National Hurricane Center said. Pilgrim said that after a brief hiatus, the HWN plans to reactivate on 14.325 sometime during the morning of Thursday, September 9. He said the net would announce the startup time on its Web site as well as on the Maritime Mobile Service Net/Intercontinental Net frequency of 14.300 MHz. ``We truly appreciate all assistance from the Maritime Mobile Service Net and the Intercon Net during this time of high activity on our net operations on 14.325,`` Pilgrim said. MMSN and Intercon members have issued regular reminders when the HWN is active. ``We need and appreciate your assistance to help keep our net frequency clear of nonessential transmissions,`` Pilgrim added. The HWN works hand-in-hand with WX4NHC at the National Hurricane Center in Miami to gather ground-level weather data and damage reports from Amateur Radio volunteers in a storm`s path. The net relays these to forecasters via WX4NHC, which regularly checks into the net and also disseminates weather updates. The recent hurricane activations also have generated an unprecedented level of activity on the HWN Web site --- in excess of 16 million page hits over a 24-hour period, Pilgrim said. Because the high activity level resulted in slower-than-normal Web response, Pilgrim said the net negotiated with its Web provider ``to make adjustments necessary`` to continue service. ``Full operation is now restored with apologies for the inconvenience to our viewers,`` he said. The HWN has issued a plea for contributions to purchase additional Web capacity. ``Our Web site has become one of the premier sources for hurricane information, not only for private citizens, but for media and government entities as well,`` Pilgrim says in an announcement on the site. The net`s volunteer members so far have borne the burden of the additional Web hosting costs, but the HWN now is inviting contributions to support the site`s continued operation. Contributions (make checks payable to ``Hurricane Watch Net``) go to HWN Manager Mike Pilgrim, K5MP, 10374 178th Ct S, Boca Raton, FL 33498. Donors will receive a personal letter of gratitude and recognition on the HWN Web site. The Hurricane Watch Net Web site offers access to the latest weather forecasts as well as storm graphics. Copyright © 2004, American Radio Relay League, Inc. All Rights Reserved http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2004/09/08/102/?nc=1 See there for links to the Hurricane Watch Net, Maritime Mobile Service Net, WX4NHC, etc. (via John Norfolk, dxldyahoogroup, DXLD) ** ISRAEL. PRIVATE ARAB RADIO STATION AVAILABLE LIVE ONLINE BBC Monitoring has observed private Arabic station Radio Al-Shams [the Sun] with a live audio stream available online from their English- language web site at http://www.ashams.com The station officially opened on 25 July 2003, broadcasting on 98.1 and 101.0 MHz from studios in Kfar Hahoresh (not to be confused with Ein Hahoresh), near Nazareth. Its target audience is the Arabic community in Israel. Radio Al-Shams is the 14th radio station to be created within the framework of the Second Authority for Television and Radio, the broadcasting regulator for the commercial sector, and is Israel's only legal, commercial, Arabic-language radio station. Source: BBC Monitoring research in English 8 Sep 04 (via DXLD) ** ISRAEL. BEERSHEVA COMMERCIAL RADIO STATION AVAILABLE LIVE ONLINE BBC Monitoring has observed commercial station Radio Darom [South] with a live audio stream available online from their Hebrew-language web site at http://www.9697.fm Radio Darom broadcasts in Hebrew from studios in Beersheva on 96.0 and 97.0 MHz in the FM band, covering Beersheva and the northern Negev. Source: BBC Monitoring research in English 8 Sep 04 (via DXLD) ** ISRAEL. Israel/West Bank and Gaza: First Israeli/Palestinian radio launched | A new radio station, All for Peace - Radio without Borders, has launched the first phase of its operation with internet broadcasts, the US-based web site Israel21 reported on 9 September. The report said this is the first Israeli - Palestinian radio station of its kind. It will initially broadcast via the internet, but would eventually like to broadcast terrestrially to the whole of Israel and West Bank and Gaza. Broadcasts will be in Hebrew, Arabic and English. The station is a joint venture between the Jewish - Arab Centre for Peace, Givat Haviva, and Biladi, the Palestinian publishing company of The Jerusalem Times. The report added that there will be joint directors of the station - Palestinian Maysa Baransi Siniora and Israeli Shimon Malka. With a mission to promote peace, coexistence and pluralism, the station makes a point of covering the activity of Israeli and Palestinian peace organizations, the report added. The station can be heard live on its web site at http://www.allforpeace.org Source: Israel21c web site, Cupertino, in English 9 Sep 04 (via BBCM via DXLD) ** ISRAEL. 6973.0, Galei Zahal; 0055-0101+, 9-Sep; two men in Hebrew (presumably) with Hebrew rap music! Actual "Galei Zahal" ID at 0100! then M with news. SIO=3+43/lot better than usual (Harold Frodge, 5525 Whitehall St., Midland MI 48642: Drake R8B + 85'/215' RW's, 125 ft. single loop, Cumbredx mailing list via DXLD) ** JAPAN. 5006, JG2XA Tokio, 1251-1255 9/8. Heard with weak "JG2XA" Morse IDs. There was a carrier on 8006 also but heard nothing else there (John Wilkins, Wheat Ridge, Colorado, Drake R-8, 100-foot RW, Cumbre DX via DXLD) ** KASHMIR [non]. CLANDESTINE from INDIA to SOUTH ASIA, 6100, Radio Voice of Kashmir (Presumed), 1426 Sept 9 steady tone, some splash. *1430 as usual, woman briefly then music. Real problem here was that a steady tone remained, perhaps Malaysia running open carrier? (via DXTuner OZ) (Hans Johnson, WY, Cumbre DX via DXLD) ** KURDISTAN. IRAQ. 4025, Voice of the Kurdish People, 0239 Sept 8, singing by man and other local music, ID in Kurdish at 0250. (via DXTuner EU) (Hans Johnson, WY, Cumbre DX via DXLD) ** LAOS. 7145, Lao National Radio (Presumed) 1338 Sept 9. Poor signal, some splash. Woman talking in English, but I could only catch an occasional word or phrase, "workers", "last month", "number of people." A couple of brief musical fanfares, but otherwise talk by the same speaker. I never could catch an ID. (via DXTuner OZ) (Hans Johnson, WY, Cumbre DX via DXLD) ** LAOS [non]. CLANDESTINE --- 9515, Hmong Lao R. 0110-0200* Sept 8 [UT Wed]. Talks and assorted music in presumed Hmong language; transmission ended with flute IS. Strong --- Taiwan transmitter? (John Wilkins, Wheat Ridge, Colorado, Drake R-8, 100-foot RW, Cumbre DX via WORLD OF RADIO 1245, DXLD) 9515 Hmong Radio via Rampisham-UK -- Glenn, See bc-dx #682. 73 de wb 9515 kHz via Merlin Rampisham-UK site. Similar 275 to 325 degree outlets towards North America via Merlin: 6155 0130-0200 10,11 RMP 500 275 0 216 1234567 2803-311004 D IRL RTE 7320 2200-2400 8 RMP 500 285 0 216 1234567 2803-311004 N G DRM 7325 0300-0400 10 RMP 500 285 0 216 ..34567 2803-311004 D G BBC 9795 0200-0230 4,7-11 RMP 500 300 25 216 ......7 2803-311004 D G MNO (Wolfgang Büschel, Germany, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Are you sure? (gh) ** MALDIVE ISLANDS [non]. 13855 came through about S-3-4. More like fair strength and occasionally getting to a 4. There was no major interference, although Male tried some interfering in the form of continuous beeb beeb, about 2 beeps a second. It wasn't any bother here but in the Male area the ground wave would have been quite strong I expect. Around 1640 I heard some Arabic type weakish co channel. Anyway overall it was better than last Wednesday. I could find the station with some searching on a 2 band transistor radio; once I found the station I had good readability. The modulation was strong[er] than last time. However, I am still not satisfied with the strength. We have to get over S-4 all the time to be able to get easily located. Will look out tomorrow as well (73 Victor, BC-DX Aug 25, [Victor Goonetilleke 4S7VK, Colombo Sri Lanka] via DXLD) ** MEXICO. 4810, 0617 4th Sept, XERTA, steady signal with religious choir singing, only audible in LSB (David Norrie, DXing at Whitford Forest, Auckland, AOR 7030, fence post antennna, DX LISTENING DIGEST) XERTA, R. Transcontinental, 4810, Sept 4 0130-0235+ Spanish talk, ID, Christian music, lite instrumental music. Weak-poor in RTTY ute blob and CODAR QRM. Must use ECSS-LSB to hear anything. RTTY on high side and CODAR on low side. 0600-0720+ check, still here with better signal (Brian Alexander, Mechanicsburg PA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** MOROCCO. VUELTA 2004 ESPANA :24 BANDSCAN DESDE EL CAMPANARIO Ciao !! Domenica 5 settembre era da me dedicata ad un attento bandscan fatto dalla veranda ...al primo piano... in attesa di fare colazione... mi sgranocchiavo alcune emittenti Maocchine... [excerpt] 101.5, RADIO SAWA, Marocco in Arabo... in //101,8 X ??? Rabat ?? la grandenovita ... grande segnale ..pubblicita Multinazionali USA.. mi domando come sia possibile che il governo Marocchino accetti una tale invasione di media Amerikani ??? programmi in Arabo ...; (Dario Monferini, Spain, Sept 7, Play-DX via DXLD) ** MYANMAR. 5985.8, Radio Myanmar, 1412 Sept 9 with nice level, female vocal music. 1413 female announcer with mention of Myanmar, a few more words, and then back to music. No splash here which made for nice listening. Tuned away briefly but returned at 1433 with woman talking in English, channel remaining clear. News at 1435 with opening ID, "You are listening to Yangoon [sic] Radio, Myanmar." Another ID at 1444 at end of news, "You are listening to Myanmar Radio." (via DXTuner OZ) (Hans Johnson, WY, Cumbre DX via DXLD) ** NETHERLANDS ANTILLES. HURRICANE IVAN MAY DISRUPT BONAIRE TRANSMISSIONS --- I am unable to publish anything in the Media Network Weblog at the moment due to a technical fault at Blogger. This is what should appear in the blog: As of 0600 UT, the centre of Hurricane Ivan was 455 km east of Bonaire, category 4, with windspeeds of up to 215 km per hour. The predicted course of the hurricane takes it close to Aruba, Bonaire and Curacao. Our Programme Distribution Department is in close contact with our colleagues at the Bonaire relay station. As their safety is the number one priority, there's a good chance that it may be necessary to evacuate the station. If that happens, some of the Bonaire transmissions will taken over by our station at Flevo, here in the Netherlands. The situation will become clearer later in the day (Andy Sennitt, Radio Netherlands, Sept 8, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) [Later:] For safety reasons, our Bonaire relay station will stop broadcasting this evening at 1900 UT, and the staff will be evacuated, while Hurricane Ivan passes through the area. Radio Netherlands Acting D-G Jan Hoek says "The relay station consists of 20 antennas, of which the highest is about 100 metres. With such high windspeeds, the transmitting station is a dangerous area. The safety of our staff is naturally the number one priority. We remain in close contact with our colleagues on the island who are keeping us informed of the latest situation." At this time it is not known how long the station will be off the air (Andy Sennitt, Radio Netherlands, Sept 8, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1245, DX LISTENING DIGEST) [Later2:] Just received this list of extra transmissions from Flevo that will replace Bonaire this evening. Transmissions not listed will be off the air. 1900-2057 English 17810 2100-2157 Dutch 15315 and 17810 2200-2257 Dutch 15315 2200-2256 RVI 11635 0000-0157 English 9845 0200-0257 Spanish 6165 0300-0357 Dutch 6165 (Andy Sennitt, Radio Netherlands, ibid.) Radio Netherlands is putting in a nice signal to the ECNA this evening, from 0000 UT Sept 9 on 9845 kHz. Is this in fact Flevo rather than Bonaire? It is quite strong but seems to have a little more fading that if it was coming from Bonaire. The last time I probably listened to RNW directly from Holland to the USA it was no doubt from Lopik (Daniel Srebnick, NJ, dxld yg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Yes, it was Flevo, as stated in my earlier message. Thankfully, the Netherlands Antilles have escaped the worst of Ivan. There have been high winds and heavy rain, but no reports of serious damage. It's likely that our Bonaire relay station will resume normal operation later today. BTW our Weblog is back in action after Blogger suffered a major hardware failure yesterday (Andy Sennitt, Radio Netherlands, 0723 UT Sept 9, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Bonaire still off the air --- I just received this update from my colleague Ehard Goddijn of our Programme Distribution Department: "Bonaire is still off the air. It seems that the station cannot be reached due to high waves splashing on the coastal road to the site. So nothing is known about the state of the transmitters/ antennas/ generators after hurricane Ivan yet." More when we have it (Andy Sennitt, RN, 0829 UT Sept 9, dxlyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Bonaire relay station back on air from 1800 UT --- Our colleagues at the Bonaire relay station have spent the first part of the day inspecting the entire installation following the passing of Hurricane Ivan. We're pleased and relieved to report that there are no major problems there, however only two of the three transmitters will initially be operating. For that reason, tonight's 2200-2256 UT transmission of Radio Vlaanderen Internationaal on 11635 will be broadcast from Flevo. If it's still not possible to operate three transmitters, Bonaire will drop the transmissions in English at 0400- 0457 to Western North America and 1100-1157 on 11675 to eastern North America. Also dropped will be the 2300-2357 transmission in Dutch on 15315 (Andy Sennitt, Radio Netherlands, 1528 UT Sept 9, ibid.) ** NIGERIA. NBC Kaduna, 4770, had not been heard for some time, but active UT Sept 8 at 2013 in Hausa (Chris Hambly, Victoria, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** OKLAHOMA. CBS was heavily promoting the Wed Sept 8 edition of Sixty Minutes (no longer II), with new info on acting president Bush`s alleged National Guard service --- but when we checked print TV Guide, we found 2 hours of TBA scheduled for 7 pm on KWTV-9 OKC! Then KWTV`s own website schedule showed St. Jude begathon pre-empting the first hour (which KWTV often does, along with Billy Graham, always more important than whatever CBS provides in primetime). However, when there are such pre-emptions, KWTV usually runs the missed show in the middle of the night, in this case early Thursday at 3:15 am. So we had already set our VCR when at 7 pm, 60 Minutes showed up after all! I wonder what happened? (Glenn Hauser, Enid, DX LISTENING DIGEST) OKC CBS affiliate caves to pressure! Will show 60Min2 [sic] by gypsy Wed Sep 8th, 2004 at 21:47:08 GMT The Oklahoma City CBS station got so many phone calls they decided to show 60 Minutes II after all. Here's the message from the Progressive Alliance Foundation, the group that spearheaded the lobby effort (and does lots of other good stuff here) Diaries :: gypsy's diary :: Folks.... We won. 60 Minutes II [sic] will be played this evening at 7 PM on News9 in Oklahoma City. There is NO DOUBT that your calls and emails and faxes made the difference. We just spoke with News9, and they BEGGED us to send out a note asking you to please stop calling - they're going to show the program. Today, you showed News9 that folks in Oklahoma DO care about seeing all the issues related to this incredibly important election, and that grassroots really can make the difference - your voice was heard. If you'd like, please email a simple "Thank you for showing Sixty Minutes" to krier@kwtv.com and dutton@kwtv.com Please, no more calls to News9. Please forward this email to anyone you may have forwarded our previous email to. Regards, Philippe Beaudette, Operations Manager The Progressive Alliance Foundation http://www.palfound.net/ http://www.dailykos.com/story/2004/9/8/17478/52326 (via DXLD) ** PERU. R. Horizonte, 5019.93, Sept 3 0110-0132* local religious music, Spanish talk, religious recitations, OA folk music. 0129 IDs and closing announcements, NA. Weak with RTTY QRM (Brian Alexander, Mechanicsburg PA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** QATAR. QATARI-BASED AL-JAZEERA TO LAUNCH ENGLISH-LANGUAGE CHANNEL TO COUNTER CNN, BBC | Text of report by Lebanese newspaper Al-Safir web site on 3 September The Al-Jazeera satellite network has announced that it intends to launch an English-language channel by the end of next year in order to confront what it described as "unbalanced coverage by Western media outlets, such as CNN and BBC." Nigel Parsons, the managing editor of London-based Al-Jazeera International said, "We believe that there is a gap in the market, because there are two sides to every news item, and we do not get both sides." Included in Al-Jazeera's preliminary plans - which currently manages two Internet web sites in Arabic and English - is the intention to situate the headquarters of the new channel in Qatar and to establish offices in Europe, North America and Asia. Parsons adds that the launch of the English-language channel is still in the "preliminary stages," and the emphasis is on employing experienced people. Al- Jazeera is negotiating with satellite dish distributors in hopes of providing the means for watching the channel worldwide. Parsons adds, "Some countries might present more problems than others." After the United States argued that Al-Jazeera's relay of scenes of wounded Iraqis and dead US soldiers was no more than "incitement to violence," the channel revealed new ethical principles last July. Al- Jazeera defended the right to show "the ugly face of the war." However, it promised to consider Western and Arab standards when deciding whether to show scenes of extreme violence. An official of Al-Jazeera told a German newspaper earlier this summer that the network had not yet made a profit, but it was thinking of floating its shares on the market, and that they are thinking of launching two specialized new channels, one for sports and one for children. On the other hand Waddah Khanfar, director of Al-Jazeera, and Rajat Sharma [name as transliterated], the chairman of the board of directors of the privately owned Indian TV news channel, signed in New Delhi yesterday a cooperation agreement between the two TV networks. According to this agreement, Al-Jazeera will start working in India today, Friday, 3 September, with a news bulletin dubbed in the Indian language [specific language not given] in an attempt to address the second largest Muslim population in the world. In exchange, Al-Jazeera will relay Indian news bulletins. During the press conference [following the signing of the agreement], Khanfar said, "There is no exchange of money; it is only an exchange of news." Khanfar added that the step was aimed at "cooperating with Indian TV in order to present a fair news picture of what is happening in the Middle East." He also expressed his satisfaction with the agreement because it is thought that it will bolster Al-Jazeera's coverage of "Indian affairs." As of today, Indian audiences will be able to watch Al-Jazeera on Indian TV at 2300 hours Indian time. Source: Al-Safir web site, Beirut, in Arabic 3 Sep 04 (via BBCM via DXLD) ** RUSSIA. Voice of Russia --- Coverage of the Beslan School hostage crisis With the horrific school massacre in Beslan, the news and comments from the Voice of Russia have been interesting and sometimes conflicting. With recent seasonal frequency changes, I missed their broadcasts for a few days, but on September 6th I caught up with them on 7180 kHz from 0100 past 0300 UT. On September 6th, VOR reported 338 known deaths and 190 unaccounted for. The government is paying each family of victims 100,000 rubles, and 50,000 rubles to the seriously injured, as well as medical costs incurred. On September 7th, they spoke of a memorial service at the Church of Christ the Saviour in Moscow by the Patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church. The report had comments like, "We failed to protect our children." The school is to be torn down and a memorial built. An announcer barely controlling his emotion, said "The Russian language is very rich, but no words can describe..." the horror of by this terrible act. The coverage then shifted to Grozny, stating it is well known there is a published list for acts of assassination, $10,000 (US dollars presumed) for killing a Russian official; $50,000 to $100,000 to suicide bombers, depending on how many are killed. They continued that 10 "foreign mercenaries" ... "hired by Al Qaida" were involved in the siege. "There is no doubt that this was started outside Russia to create chaos in the Northern Caucuses." VOR continued with a detailed thwarted plot of Al Qaida to assassinate various members of the British Royal Family. On September 8th, news mentioned medical aid arriving from Norway and France, among others. Also, there were some 130,000 protesters against the siege and slaughter below the Kremlin walls. One item focused on just what to call the perpetrators of this massacre. VOR noted that CNN had used the term "terrorists" in referring to what had often been called "Chechen Rebels" or "militants." They noted that the BBC still insists on using the latter two terms. A high level reporter from the BBC Russian Service was reported as saying that this is a high level administrative decision, while all the reporters know that anyone who could blatantly kill innocent children are really "terrorists." On September 9th VOR reported all the terrorists are dead but one, with 326 others dead (about half children) and still several hundred in hospital, many still critical. The terrorists also are referred to as "thugs." They mentioned for the first time the dissension among the terrorists in the early stages of the crisis. Three terrorists upset with the holding and treatment of children were killed by the leader, two of them female suicide bombers blown up by remote control. Then the focus was criticism of the US for wanting to maintain an open dialog with Chechen rebel leaders. "They are not freedom fighters.... It is an internal affair, and Russia does not need outside help to come up with a political solution..." of the Chechen separatist movement. However, the next item claimed it as an external affair, part of the international war on terrorism, part of a plan to disrupt the Northern Caucuses. It is a situation similar to Yugoslavia, with deep, unresolved ethnic / religious disputes. There is no telling what turmoil could be unleashed. These summarized comments came from newscasts, and the regular programs "News and Views" and "Commonwealth Update" between 0100 and 0230 UT on the dates noted. Certainly more interesting coverage will be forthcoming from the Voice of Russia as they face perhaps the worst crisis since the break-up of the Soviet Union and events of 1991 (Roger Chambers, Utica, New York, Sept 9, ODXA via DXLD) The cult of death, beyond reason or negotiation --- By David Brooks WE'VE been forced to witness the massacre of the innocent. In New York, Madrid, Moscow, Tel Aviv, Baghdad and Bali, we have seen thousands of people killed while going about the daily activities of life. We've been forced to endure the massacre of children. Whether it's teenagers outside an Israeli disco or students in Beslan, Russia, we've seen kids singled out as special targets. We should by now have become used to the death cult that is thriving at the fringes of the Muslim world. This is the cult of people who are proud to declare, 'You love life, but we love death'. . . http://straitstimes.asia1.com.sg/commentary/story/0,4386,271477,00.html (Straits Times Interactive Sept 8 via Gerald T. Pollard, DXLD) ** SUDAN [non]. UK, 11665, Sudan Radio Service, *0300 Sept 8 with IS ID by woman who also gave frequency schedule and explanation of station and contact details. (via DXTuner EU) (Hans Johnson, WY, Cumbre DX via DXLD) ** SWEDEN. RADIO SWEDEN KEEPS ROLLING ALONG One of the best examples of regionally-focused international broadcasting remains Radio Sweden, which continues to use shortwave, satellite (World Radio Network / Sirius satellite radio) and the Internet to make its programs widely available. Daily program highlights are available by e-mail by sending a message to radiosweden-subscribe@topica.com Radio Sweden`s current schedule includes a Nordic regional roundup on weekdays, 60 Degrees North, along with the following additional features: Mondays – SportScan, Radio Sweden`s weekly magazine covering the world of Swedish and Scandinavian sports, presented every Monday by Sports Editor Judi Milar. Tuesdays – Close Up, presented by Juan Navas, features well-known, as well as not so well-known personalities, ranging from all walks of life. The program offers listeners a more in-depth view and profiles of people in Sweden today. Close Up is broadcast on the first Tuesday of every month. Other weeks currently offer special features. Wednesdays – a mixed bag of features and mini-documentaries on the Nordic region. Thursdays – a rotating set of regular features, including Nordic Lights (first Thursday), GreenScan (second Thursday, a program about populist environmental concerns and environmental groups), HeartBeat (third Thursday, a health and medical program hosted by Gaby Katz), and S-Files (fourth Thursday, a magazine about Swedish history, culture and geography). Fridays – it`s the regular Weekly Review of news, arts, science and sports from the Nordic region. Saturdays – a rotating series including Network Europe (first Saturday, co-produced with the BBC World Service, Deutsche Welle, and others), Sweden Today (second Saturday, a show featuring Swedish opinion and commentary on political and social issues), Spectrum (third Saturday, covering the Swedish cultural scene) and Studio 49 (fourth Saturday, covering the ideas and trends shaping today`s Sweden). Sundays – the first Sunday features In Touch with Stockholm, Radio Sweden`s listener contact program, and Sounds Nordic (music and trends magazine) the other weeks. Radio Sweden reaches the USA via shortwave daily at 1230 and 1330 on 15240 kHz from its own transmitters; the program is repeated the next UTC day at 0130 and 0230 on 6010 kHz relayed by Radio Canada International`s transmitters. Sirius satellite radio listeners can hear Radio Sweden on the WRN channel daily at 1900 and 0130 UT. Daily archives are available at the Radio Sweden website, http://www.sr.se/rs/ and also at the World Radio Network website, http://www.wrn.org (Richard Cuff, Easy Listening, Sept NASWA Journal via DXLD) ** SWITZERLAND. Swiss Radio International update As I speculated, these special Assignment Switzerland programs are aired on shortwave at 2330 UT on 11905 and 9885 kHz, with new programs beginning each Saturday. A total of six editions of Assignment Switzerland have already been posted at the SRI website; click ``English``, then ``Multimedia``, then ``Assignment Switzerland``. Non-Shortwave pick: Switzerland In Sound Speaking of Switzerland in a happier time -- courtesy of Glenn Hauser, I spotted this website – http://www.switzerlandinsound.com/ - a website founded and maintained by Bob Zanotti, one of the ``two Bobs`` who together hosted Swiss Shortwave Merry-Go-Round on Swiss Radio International. Bob has created an archive of 50 audio documentaries of varying length, all available for on-demand listening; Bob also markets his capabilities for voiceovers. He`s joined us twice at the Winter SWL Fest, and it`s been a pleasure for me to spend time talking radio with him both times. When you load the website, you`ll see a link labeled ``The Two Bobs``. Click it, and you`ll be taken to the page for an hour-long program Bob Zanotti made with his longtime partner and friend, Bob Thomann, this past January. Great to hear both Bobs ``on the air`` once again, even if it isn`t ``radio``! (Richard Cuff, Easy Listening, Sept NASWA Journal via DXLD) ** TAJIKISTAN. 7245, R. Tajikistan, Sep 2 1640-1704 33433-34433 Dari? and English and Arabic, Music. 1645 with IS. ID. News. 1700 with IS. ID. 1645 in English. 1700 in Arabic (Kouji Hashimoto, Japan Premium via DXLD) ** U A E. 21570, 1211 UT 9/9/04, R. Dubai, crossmod from 21640 and 21605, poor (Tim Bucknall, Congleton NW England, Icom R75 + Wellbrooke ala 1530, harmonics yg via DXLD) ** U K. BBC World Service Highlights [Americas stream times only here] Mondays, 1532, repeated Tuesdays, 0132 and Sundays, 2332: Inspiration continues in the quiz show time slot for September. This program is about invention and innovation, hosted by Chris Stuart. This program doesn`t appear in the on-demand archive listings at the World Service website, so you`ll have to listen or tape the program live. As an aside, you may know that most of the quiz programs are originally produced for the domestic counterpart to the World Service, Radio 4; Brain of Britain began its 2004 run in late August, airing Mondays 1230 and Saturdays 2200. After a few weeks we`ll hear the program on the World Service. Looks like my favorite quiz, Just A Minute, has just wrapped up its summer run on Radio 4. You can find an exhaustive web page with information on the BBC`s quiz shows at http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/comedy/ Sundays, 0101: Play of the Week highlights for September include Stephen King along with the following: [past but available ondemand?] September 5th: Shakara by Tess Onwueme – Shakara lives in one of the poorest parts of Lagos, Nigeria but desperately wants more out of life. As a willful teenager, she sees hope in the city`s nightclubs, which frosts her hardworking, righteous mother. Shakara is co-produced by the World Service Drama and African Service entirely on location in and around Lagos, capturing the flavor of one of Africa`s liveliest cities. September 12th: Speaking Well of the Dead – Israel Horovitz wrote this play specially commissioned to mark the third anniversary of the 2001 USA terrorist attacks on New York and Washington. Horovitz, who lives in lower Manhattan, penned this play of conflict between a mother who speaks well of her husband, who was killed at the World Trade Center, and her daughter, who wants to speak the truth, opening old wounds. The play explores the need for the living to find heroes among the dead, and features actress Jill Clayburgh and her real-life daughter, Lily Rabe, in the lead roles. September 19th: Misery is a special 90-minute edition of POTW crafted by novelist Stephen King, and is an adaptation of the stage version from Simon Moore. Novelist Paul Sheldon has had an automobile accident, and his biggest fan is his nurse, who wants Sheldon to write his greatest work…just for her. She has various inducements at her disposal --- a needle, an axe, and other ``really nasty`` alternatives. Miriam Margolyes and Nicholas Farrell star; this week`s edition runs until 0230, so you`ll need to adjust any audio recording plans accordingly. September 26: Monsieur Ibrahim et Les Fleurs du Coran is a one-man show written by Eric Emmanuel Schmidt about the interaction between a young Jewish boy and the ``local Arab`` in the Rue Bleue in Paris. This monologue won a Sony Silver award in this year`s competition. Remember that all editions are available for on-demand download as of the same time they air in the Americas on shortwave. Wednesdays 1406, Thursdays 0006, and Sundays, 1006 and 1506, beginning September 1st: The Real Far East is a four-part documentary series profiling the Russian Far East, a region bordering Japan, China, North Korea and Alaska that is increasingly turning its back on Moscow and building new relationships with its Pacific neighbors. Tony Barrell hosts the series which visits such locations as Vladivostok, Khabarovsk and Sakhalin. Thursdays, 1406, Fridays, 0006 and 0506, and Saturdays, 1006, beginning September 3rd: France and the Arab World is a three-part documentary filling in for Assignment that presents the state and history of Franco-Arab relations. Algeria and Syria are profiled in detail; the third program deals with France`s attempts to encourage Arab countries to act in unison for their own self-interest. It appears the times shown above are correct --- some of the times shown in the BBC On Air magazine differ from those above. Saturday, September 11th, 1800-2200 UTC: The Last Night of the Proms musical extravaganza airs live on shortwave to the Europe, Middle East and Africa, and will probably reach the east coast of North America for all or part of the program, depending on the special frequency the BBC chooses. This frequency hasn`t been announced yet; watch the NASWA Flashsheet, listen for the on-air announcements, or check out the swprograms e-mail list group as the date approaches. The concert will also likely be webcast on the domestic Radio 3 service with a decently high bandwidth for those with broadband Internet connections. Mondays, 1406, Tuesdays 0006 and 0506, and Sundays, 2306, beginning September 13th: Inside Putin`s Russia is a four-part series reported by longtime BBC Moscow correspondent Bridget Kendall, who travels from large cities to small towns, talking to people about life under President Putin. Has Russia truly shaken off its Communist past, or does the combination of state control, rampant corruption and dire economic need perpetuate a condition of enslavement? Wednesdays 1406, Thursdays 0006, and Sundays, 1006 and 1506, beginning September 29th: Heritage, the semi-regular series on history and architecture hosted by Malcolm Billings, returns for a five-week run of new programs. Billings investigates the process UNESCO, the United Nations` cultural organization, identifies World Heritage sites and looks at the efforts countries go through to have their historic sites added to the UN`s list. Billings visits locations that have been designated World Heritage sites in 2004, including Venice, Liverpool, Spain and Cyprus (Richard Cuff, Easy Listening, Sept NASWA Journal via DXLD) ** U K [non]. Re R. Ezra: Karaism: Good (or at least extensive) definitions of this non-Talmudic belief in New York Times Book Review last Sunday, in review of novel by Cynthia Ozick (p. 12). (Ben Dawson, WA, Sept 8, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. Still no trace of anything out of Okeechobee. But WRMI 6870 was on air at 0630 and WJIE 7490 was an excellent signal same time - no trace of 13595 though --- too high to propagate?. The other one I don't hear is KAIJ 5755 - is WUN still using it? 73s from (Noel R. Green [NW England], Sept 8, Cumbre DX via DXLD) My 7490 is smoking. I totally changed the format and I am reaching all of Canada. I have permission to air Dave Ramsey, the financial program, on 13595 and 7490. I should have 13595 on the air soon and Dave airing (Morgan Freeman, WJIE, Sept 8, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. Regarding CMN at 1400 UT Mon-Fri, this is actually correct. They have made several changes lately, and the new schedule for CMN is 1400-0400 UT Monday-Friday. So we are carrying WRN from 1200 to 1400 on 15725. WRMI-2? Soon, hopefully. I just want to get through hurricane season right now! (Jeff White, WRMI, Sept 8, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Glenn: I know you will hate this, but as of tonight a lot of the WRN hours that we carry are going to be replaced by Brother Stair, who has purchased 0400-0900 UT seven days a week on 6870, plus 1200-1400 UT Monday-Friday on 15725. We will still carry WRN on weekend mornings and afternoons as before (Jeff White, WRMI, Sept 9, ibid.) ** U S A. WBIG 1280, Aurora IL, now relaying CRI: see CHINA [non] ** U S A. WNYC (streaming at http://wnyc.org 820 kHz, 93.9 MHz) celebrates its 80th anniversary beginning September 13. It will play old clips and, October 20, there will be a series of readings of short stories about radio and NYC by well-known performers. This station, owned until 1999 by the City of New York (now a non- profit foundation) was the station where Mayor La Guadia read the comics to the children during a newspaper strike. The Oscar Brand Folk Song Festival (10 P.M. GMT-5/-4 Saturdays on 820) has been on since 1945. http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/ent_radio/story/229791p-197364c.html (Joel Rubin, NY, Sept 8, Swprograms mailing list via WORLD OF RADIO 1245, DXLD) Viz.: AT 80, WNYC PRESSES REWIND By DAVID HINCKLEY, DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/story/229786p-197364c.html Over the same airwaves where Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia read the comics, a young Miles Davis blew his horn, a reporter narrated the last ride on the Third Avenue El and Eleanor Roosevelt spun Elvis Presley records, WNYC (93.9 FM, 820 AM) next week will kick off its 80th birthday party. Starting Monday, the station will broadcast clips from programs going back to 1927. These include news stories, features, music, humor and generally interesting moments, introduced by Robert Krulwich. The celebration runs through Oct. 20, when WNYC will hold a show called "Selected Shorts" at Symphony Space. Eli Wallach, Blair Brown and other performers will read literary works about radio and New York. "It's a celebration of an exceptional legacy," said Laura Walker, the president of WNYC. "It's also a look forward. Our most exciting days are ahead of us." WNYC was founded by the city in 1924 and through 1996 became the country's most successful and influential municipal radio station. Since then, it has become an even more successful nonprofit independent, boosting membership from 60,000 to 95,000 and increasing listenership from less than 800,000 to about 1.1 million. New York City officials were among the first to see the potential of radio, proposing a municipally owned station in mid-1922. After jockeying and wrangling about the $50,000 cost, WNYC officially went on the air July 8, 1924. The Vincent López Orchestra performed at the kickoff. Programming for years was uneven, with many broadcasts of municipal meetings and speeches from politicians. But the station also valued news coverage from the start, said Walker. It broadcast Calvin Coolidge's welcome to Charles A. Lindbergh in 1927, the inquest into the Morro Castle sinking in 1937 and the first bulletins about Pearl Harbor in 1941. Since WNYC was transferred to the WNYC Foundation in 1996, said spokeswoman Jennifer Houlihan, it has hired a full-time archivist to "repatriate" WNYC's widely scattered historic tapes and catalogue them. Those tapes are the basis for the historic clips that start Monday. "The station has always served New York in a unique way," said Walker. "It's a place to go for people who want thoughtful radio. It's an oasis." Originally published on September 8, 2004 (via Mike Cooper, WORLD OF RADIO 1245, DXLD) ** U S A. Re Lubavitcher 1710 --- ``Unless Lubavitcher Radio is interfering with another licensed operation - and it's not - that makes it a very low priority for the FCC (Scott Fybush)`` Interesting, I didn't know the entire story. I guess I can understand the problems of political sensitivity, and how that can affect enforcement of FCC regulations. So that means if I run an illegal radio station on 1710 in Pennsylvania supporting the war in Iraq, IBOC and BPL, the FCC will leave me alone? Hmmm.... (Brett Saylor, Central PA (not even considering it), Sept 7, NRC-AM via DXLD) I think I remember seeing that some time ago. The responsible party seems to be this guy Eliyahu Ezagui, the owner of "Hip Hop City, Inc." (an interesting name for a company owned by a Chassidic Jew), who owns the building. I'd bet that this is the guy, since a quick Google search comes up with a couple of Chabad/Lubavitch references. This one is really interesting: http://www.beismoshiach.org/News/News294/news294b.htm It seems that Mr. Ezagui is a developer, who was given a directive by the Lubavitcher Rebbe to build houses in Crown Heights. So presumably, he's got a selection of buildings upon which he could put antennas and broadcast for a while. The part that I find creepy is the references to the "Rebbe MH'M". The M H M stands for "Melech HaMoshiach", or "King Messiah". These folks believe that the Rebbe is the Messiah, and despite the inconvenient fact that he passed away about 10 years ago, they seem not to have been dissuaded from this belief. I guess they're still waiting for him to come back, though it seems to me that this concept is much less consistent with traditional Jewish belief than with that of other religions. My understanding is that this is not a universal belief among Lubavitchers, but then again, most of the ones who do believe it don't advertise that fact. I was told by a friend that here on the West Coast, there is an official "don't ask, don't tell" policy on this matter. I guess it turns off potential adherents. It's interesting though that Chabad/Lubavitch, a chassidic movement, which almost by definition revolves around following a Rebbe, has managed to hold together and even continue to thrive for 10 years, without a replacement Rebbe being named. Typically the son or son-in-law would become the new Rebbe (Rabbi Schneerson in fact was the son-in-law of the previous Rebbe), but Rabbi Schneerson had no children. Don't get me wrong, I think Chabad does a lot of good - not only in the Jewish Community, but in the wider world as well - they run drug rehab programs along with their network of schools, synagogues and outreach programs. I just have a problem with some of their beliefs, which to me as an Orthodox Jew, seem to be inconsistent with accepted Orthodox beliefs. Getting back on-topic, if I run into any of my Lubavitcher buddies, I'll have to ask them if they know anything about the station or Mr. Ezagui. I know a bunch of them, since my son goes to a school that's nominally affiliated with Chabad. If you look at the web site, they do mention that they'd like to build a SW and/or FM station. They also have a live webcast, which could be useful to those of you looking for a parallel, to confirm reception. I just clicked on the link, and was greeted with the most annoyingly screechy violin and synthesiser music I think I've ever heard. Probably woke up the rest of my office. I like Jewish music, but sheesh! (Brian Leyton, Valley Village, CA, ibid.) ``Lubavitcher Radio is almost certainly coming from in or near "770," the worldwide headquarters of Chabad Lubavitch at 770 Eastern Parkway in the Crown Heights neighborhood of Brooklyn.`` The address given in the NAL is 1.3 miles from "770", according to Yahoo Maps. Actually, it's even less as the crow flies... ``Unless Lubavitcher Radio is interfering with another licensed operation - and it's not - that makes it a very low priority for the FCC.`` I think you've hit the nail on the head right there. #1, they are politically connected, and #2, they're not interfering with any licensed operations. Wouldn't you think though that there would be at least one TIS station around Brooklyn on 1700? (Brian Leyton, Valley Village, CA, ibid.) There's a TIS on 1700 out by JFK Airport. It's been heard at this location more often than 1710, BTW (Russ Edmunds, Blue Bell, PA (15 mi NNW Philadelphia), ibid.) Interesting! I know where I need to head next time I'm in Brooklyn... Ground conductivity's not great there. I suspect Lubavitcher Radio gets out better on skywave than it does in the local area. Wonder what he's using as an antenna? s (Scott Fybush, NY, ibid.) OOOH, I can hardly wait to see it in Tower Site of the Week: "Your fearless reporter Scott Fybush goes undercover, in black hat, beard & coat, to bring you the straight poop on Lubavitcher Radio!" Well, the FCC NAL mentions an "vertical antenna with a coaxial cable leading across the roof into a locked equipment room". I imagine that there are any number of manufacturers who make small verticals for TIS use, that would be perfect for this application. Would one of these manufacturers necessarily care who they were selling to, or would they make any attempt to determine that the purchaser had a license? I get the concept that the FCC has to rely on local law enforcement, and that it's unlikely that they're going to get a lot of cooperation, but a couple of questions remain - mostly procedural. When the FCC issues an NAL, what happens? In this case, it was for $10k, which (at least to me) is a lot of money. If it's not paid, then do they then place a lien on company assets? Assuming that someone at the FCC is doing their job (I know, I know), then just through the normal course of business, they should be placing liens, attempting to collect on the debt, and probably issuing more NALs, since the station has not ceased operations. In this case, I can't find anything on the FCC site besides the NAL we've already seen (Brian Leyton, Valley Village, CA, ibid.) There are two Lubavitcher stations in Brooklyn. One is on 1620 kHz and the other, more widely heard, is on 1710 kHz. The 1620 kHz station is likely located in the Crown Heights section, according to knowledgeable source (Dan Srebnick, Aberdeen, NJ, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. FARM GROUP HITS DECLINING BROADCASTS Wednesday, September 08, 2004 By SUSAN MIRES http://www.stjoenews-press.com/main.asp?FromHome=1&TypeID=1&ArticleID=56643&SectionID=81&SubSectionID=272 One of the nation`s leading farm groups claims that radio stations are not serving the needs of rural listeners. The American Farm Bureau Federation has filed comments with the Federal Communications Commission, citing changes in recent years that have reduced or eliminated the amount of agriculture news broadcast over local stations. Stations that once were important to rural listeners now are abandoning those listeners, said Bob Stallman, Farm Bureau president. Last year, KFEQ Radio in St. Joseph changed its format so it no longer has a dedicated farm program early in the morning. ``We felt farmers needed information in addition to farm information,`` said Gary Exline, station manager. He noted that there was a strong reaction from some listeners. ``There`s no doubt the farm audience is a loyal one that pays attention to their farm broadcaster,`` Mr. Exline said. KFEQ still has dedicated agriculture programming at noon and offers market updates throughout the day, as well as other farm news. In its comments, Farm Bureau noted that WCCO in Minneapolis recently dropped farm programming altogether. In Chicago, the WGN Noon Show was reduced from 45 minutes to brief market updates. The National Association of Farm Broadcasters, based in Platte City, Mo., has not taken a position on the comments filed by Farm Bureau. Ken Root, executive director of the organization, noted that the broadcasting industry has changed significantly since 1996, when federal ownership regulations were relaxed. ``Farm broadcasters are utilizing every tool to cover ag news and get it to farmers. They are more capable than they`ve ever been,`` Mr. Root said. ``We don`t feel it is anything other than the reality of business in the decline in the number of broadcasters.`` In the last six years, the organizations membership has dropped from 225 to 136. Mr. Root said advertising revenue also has fallen significantly since 1999. ``Farmers are not naïve --- we know we will never have the amount of farm programming via radio we had 20 or 30 years ago,`` Missouri Farm Bureau President Charles Kruse said in a statement. Eliminating farm programming, however, is totally unfair to the farmers in the community the radio station is licensed to serve. Mr. Kruse said farmers spend many hours in their tractors and pickups, making radio a valuable source of information. There is concern about consolidation among all agriculture media, not just radio, Mr. Root said. Local programming costs money, he said, noting that automation and the growth of networking has made it cheaper and easier for radio stations to use regional and national news sources. The reduction in agriculture-themed programming is directly related to the shrinking number of farm households, Mr. Exline said. ``The ones we have are still important to us,`` he said. ``It`s obviously an important part of Northwest Missouri and the surrounding economy.`` Content (c)2004, The News-Press, St. Joseph, Missouri (via Mike Cooper, Artie Bigley, DXLD) ** U S A. CLEAR CHANNEL DISCOVERS THE LIBERAL DEMOGRAPHIC The Profit Motive by Jesse Walker http://www.reason.com/links/links090704.shtml Today at noon, WCOL-AM in Columbus, Ohio, becomes the latest station to join the Air America radio network. It is also the latest station owned by the behemoth Clear Channel chain to embrace the "progressive talk" format. The company, which owns more than 1,200 stations, is now beaming Air America's liberal lineup over eight of them --- nine if you count a Florida outlet that's only running the Randi Rhodes show, and 10 if you count XM satellite radio, which includes Clear Channel among its investors. That might not sound like much, but it's over a third of Air America's affiliates. It's an alliance that flies in the face of the conventional wisdom about Clear Channel: that as a Texas corporation that has benefited tremendously from the Republicans' regulatory policies --- and is owned by a Lowry Mays, a friend and financier of President Bush --- it would use its market power to boost the GOP's agenda. Turns out that profits trump politics after all. The company's first sally leftward came in March, when KPOJ-AM, in Portland, Oregon, became the first Clear Channel outfit to embrace Air America. Portland is a famously left-leaning town, and the experiment was a success: Among listeners aged 25 to 64, the station's ratings jumped from number 26 to number 3. Managers of other outlets around the country noticed this success, and decided to imitate it: Soon such lefty strongholds as Ann Arbor, Michigan, and Madison, Wisconsin, were hearing Al Franken and company on Clear Channel-owned affiliates too. Meanwhile, outside the Air America orbit, Clear Channel gave Jesse Jackson a weekly syndicated show called Keep Hope Alive, currently airing on about a dozen stations around the country. The format caught on in less obvious places as well. San Diego isn't quite the conservative stronghold it used to be: As Neal Matthews noted in The New York Times last month, it now boasts not just a Clear Channel/Air America station bearing the psychedelic moniker KLSD, but a Democratic majority on the city council and the country's first openly homosexual D.A. Still, it's not the first place that jumps to mind when you think, "Where are listeners aching for the sonorous opinions of Janeane Garofalo and Al Franken?" But the company's research said it was an untapped market, and so the station leaped. In Miami, one reason Clear Channel WINZ-AM switched to Air America, according to the Palm Beach Post, was the tremendous financial success of Michael Moore's Bush-baiting film Fahrenheit 9/11. Does that mean Clear Channel's critics are wrong? It depends on which critics you're talking about. Those of us who don't care for the chain because we associate it with cookie-cutter programming will not necessarily be impressed with its embrace of a cookie-cutter liberal talk format. (We'll be somewhat more impressed if "Indie" 103.1, Clear Channel's freewheeling music outlet in Los Angeles, inspires more imitation.) Air America's on-air personalities have a lot in common with the Sean Hannitys and Rush Limbaughs they're competing with, and since the network has been known to displace left-leaning minority- oriented talk stations, there are those who would call it part of the problem. But if the argument is that Clear Channel is snuffing out left-wing voices, that clearly isn't true. If anything, it's giving the left some juice. For the last decade and a half, conservatives have dominated commercial talk radio, especially where nationwide shows are concerned. Air America is the first serious effort since the rise of Rush to give liberals a substantial space in the medium; and, despite some early troubles, it seems to be doing pretty well. If it continues to succeed, and if people like Michael Moore continue to clear millions in bookstores and at the box office, then a Dem-friendly cable news outlet might be on the way as well. Not Dem-friendly the way CNN is Dem-friendly. Dem-friendly the way Fox News is Republican- friendly. The biggest problem with radio today is the high entry barriers imposed by the Federal Communications Commission, rules that make it difficult and expensive to launch a new station—and that encourage those who do start such stations to be far too risk-averse. A few recent developments cut against this: falling prices for outlets in the AM band, a limited program to license low-power broadcasters on the FM band, the rise of webcasting. But we still don't have anything like a free market. Yet even a distorted market needs consumers, and if an underserved group of listeners is big enough, someone will notice them. That's why Spanish-language formats boomed in the '90s. And that's what's happening with the unexpected marriage between Clear Channel and Air America. Imagine the worst-case scenario for the Democrats this election, with Not Bush getting just 40% of the country's ballots. That may not be enough voters to win an election, but it's more than enough to support a Bush-hating radio format. We've heard so much about our "polarized" and "divided" country in the last year that the presidential campaign is starting to feel like something out of Dr. Seuss: One America, Two Americas, Red America, Blue America. Even in blue America, money is green. Managing Editor Jesse Walker is author of Rebels on the Air: An Alternative History of Radio in America (NYU Press). (via Artie Bigley, DXLD) ** U S A. MISTRESS OF FLIP --- RANDI RHODES MAKES A LIVING OUT OF LEANING TO THE LEFT. Posted on Sun, Sep. 05, 2004 BY ELINOR J. BRECHER http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/entertainment/9580235.htm [long article, also about Air America, Clear Channel, etc.] (via Artie Bigley, DXLD) ** U S A. WTOP ADDS SIGNAL IN LOUDOUN COUNTY http://www.wtop.com/?sid=262571&nid=58 (Washington, DC September 7, 2004) - WTOP Radio - Washington’s News, Traffic, and Weather Station – has expanded its coverage by adding a fourth signal to the WTOP Radio Network. WTOP announced today that it has added 104.3 FM to its network of frequencies, to better serve the Leesburg/Loudoun County Area. ``Loudoun County is the fastest growing area in the entire country and people there have some of the longest commutes in the region - it only made sense for WTOP to expand to provide coverage for this area,`` says VP of Programming Jim Farley. WTOP has four frequencies in its network in an effort to provide award-winning news and information – as well as traffic and weather every ten minutes around the clock – to as many listeners in the metropolitan Washington, DC region as possible. Each frequency is stronger in a different area – 820 am in Frederick, 107.7 fm in Northern Virginia, 1500 am in the DC region, and now 104.3 fm in Leesburg/Loudoun County. In addition, listeners worldwide can access WTOP Radio via audio stream at http://www.wtopnews.com WTOP Radio has been the source of news, traffic and weather in the Washington metro area for 35 years. It is one of three radio stations in DC owned by Bonneville International Corporation (via Tom McNiff, VA, DXLD) The Washington DC Metro area has grown so large it takes four transmitters to cover it (Tom McNiff, Burke, Virginia, USA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Would not be so with one decent frequency and transmitter (gh) ** U S A. A DTV look at things to come --- I was talking to a couple of my co-workers yesterday about DTV. To make a long story short, they have no clue as to what over-the-air DTV even is, they have cable (seems like everyone has cable or a dish except us, and that's by choice, not necessity), they think it's a "way to make their cable picture clearer" by getting a box from the cable company, and here's the kicker: They think an "HDTV-ready" set is all they are going to need (if they have cable, strictly speaking, it is), and they do not understand the concept of TV sets having built-in analog and digital tuners. The day all new TV sets have to have analog and digital tuners in tandem is going to be bad enough (from the perspective of the uncomprehending consumer who will, in all likelihood, see the price of TV sets go up), but the day that "analog dies for good" could bring social unrest. And I make that latter remark only PARTIALLY tongue-in- cheek! Stay tuned (David Austin, Columbia SC, Sept 8, WTFDA via DXLD) Unfortunately you are correct in your assessment. The public knows little about DTV in general including HDTV and particularly over-the- air digital television. Two months ago I purchased an HDTV set with integrated tuner, of course. In shopping for the set I found several sales people who did not know that HDTV could be transmitter over-the- air. I had to point out sets to them which had that capability. The dealers (with rare exceptions) have all sets hooked up to satellite or cable. However, some did have sets that could be tuned to local DTV stations. I too think that there will be some pretty unhappy people when analog is shut down. People are still buying analog sets by the millions and many sets (including cable and satellite households) are located in garages, kitchens, etc. where there is no cable or satellite connection. These sets will be immediately obsolete. The set we just replaced with the new HDTV (and the old set was still working) was over 30 years old! The FCC really screwed this one up (Dave Pomeroy, Topeka, Kansas, ibid.) ** VATICAN. Vatican back on 9600 (Chinese) --- After having noted Vatican Radio in Chinese at 2200 on 9450 Sept. 2, on the 8th I checked at 2240 UT and found this broadcast has returned to 9600; perhaps what I heard last week was either a technical error at Santa Maria de Galeria, or they were testing a different frequency (Joe Hanlon in NJ, Sept 8, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** VENEZUELA [non]. I`ve not been checking every single day for RNV via Cuba, since it first reappeared Sept 3, but I think the 1900 broadcast on 13740 has been on most of the time. Sept 9, however, at 1949 UT check, it was missing. Maybe RHC is battening down for the next hurricane strike? (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ZAMBIA. 4910, ZNBC, 0253 Sept 8 with what sounded like choral anthem. A bit of dead air the ID by man "Zambia National Broadcasting . . . Radio One." Into music afterwards. (via DXTuner EU) (Hans Johnson, WY, Cumbre DX via DXLD) UNIDENTIFIED. 2050 ET, I'm sitting on 1700 looking for something, anything and this station pops up with French talking. I was expecting Spanish. Anyone know who this might be? Has anyone in the northeast ever heard anything but Spanish on 1700? Why does 100kwatts list only 5 stations on that frequency with them all being in the south or Texas, with one lonely station in Iowa. Is a CP for 1700 kHz worthless? Why are some X band frequencies painfully empty. And as long as we're at it, why is the sky blue? Sorry. :-) (Mike Bugaj, CT, Sept 8, WTFDA-AM via DXLD) Just a guess, but there's probably a sufficient Haitian population in the Miami area that it could be WJCC ===== (Russ Edmunds, Blue Bell, PA, ibid.) UNIDENTIFIED. Today Sept. 8 there was no trace of any signal on about 9620.7 between 0545 and 0630 even though some Brazilians were being well heard (Noel R. Green [NW England], Cumbre DX via DXLD) UNIDENTIFIED. 15173, ? 1345 UT 9/9/04 unID English OM talk, very very poor, no // found (Tim Bucknall, Congleton, NW England, Icom R75 + Wellbrooke ala 1530 (below 30mhz), harmonics yg via DXLD) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ RADIO EQUIPMENT FORUM +++++++++++++++++++++ Sensibilità rtxs LW-MW Posseggo i seguenti apparati: YAESU FRG 7700, KENWOOD TS 430S, ICOM IC 7000, TEN TEC JUPITER 538 AT, TEN TEC ORION 568 AT --- Apparati tutti favolosi e di cui sono contento, ma tutti più o meno sordi nelle gamme 150/250 Kc (onde lunghe) e non è che siano un granchè nelle OM: 500/1600 Kc- secondo voi è una mia impressione? Gli amici del gruppo che cosa utilizzano in queste gamme? Accetto consigli e commenti vari: devo fare esperienza. Grazie a chi vorrà dire la sua! (IZ6FWF Ascani Adriano, Sept 3, Play-DX via DXLD) The FRG-7700 is the only one of the group I know of that does NOT desensitise the LW/MW sections (GREG HARDISON, Los Angeles, ibid.) PROPAGATION +++++++++++ DX DISTANCES? From the North American perspective, I find it strange that Europeans rarely mention the distances involved in their VHF and UHF DX. You may have a sense of the general distances, but less so from this far away. That`s our primary way of judging a DX opening or a DX catch, and understanding how well the propagation was working, be it tropo or sporadic E or some other mode. 73, (Glenn Hauser, Oklahoma, USA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ###